14 Graphic Novels and Comics Every Twentysomething Woman Should Read

Comics and graphic novels are incredibly popular, but if you've never cracked one open yourself, it can be hard to know where to start. These days, we're spoiled for choice; there are so many awesome ones by and about women, online and in print, and in every genre and format imaginable. Check out some top picks below to get started.

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1

Boom! Box

Lumberjanes is the girl-centric camp adventure you were waiting for. Mal, Ripley, Molly, April, and Jo share a cabin at Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, where the supernatural is normal and nothing is as it seems — except the campers' affection for each other. As co-creator Noelle Stevenson toldVanity Fair, "[I]f you just have women interacting with other women, what does that free you up to do?" The answer is, make one of the most popular, engaging, exciting comics of the last year.

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2 The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

Pantheon

Drawn in lush, expressive black and white, Marjane Satrapi's memoir of growing up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution is one of the great modern graphic novels. Satrapi is brutally honest about her own immaturity, and her family eventually sends her away to spend her high-school years in Vienna. There, Satrapi recounts the homesickness and depression she suffered, which forced her to return to Tehran. But as a fiercely independent young woman in a newly conservative city, Satrapi faces difficulties she never expected. With her bold line drawings, Satrapi conveys complicated emotions that are both unique and universal. Translated by Mattias Ripa, Blake Ferris, and Anjali Singh.

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3

Boom! Box

John Allison has been writing comics since the late '90s. His first comic, Bobbins, introduced us to the English town of Tackleford, and its big characters pop up in later series Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery. These are all online, so you can explore every escapade of Shelley Winters, intrepid reporter, or big-haired, mystery-solving preteens Shauna, Charlotte, and Mildred. His latest actual-comic-book series, Giant Days, follows university students Daisy, Esther, and Susan in their totally ordinary/extraordinary lives. Each issue is illustrated by a new artist, so Allison's dry humor and kooky slapstick enjoys wildly different and creative interpretations.

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4

Drawn + Quarterly

Kate Beaton rules the online and print comic worlds. Hark! A Vagrant and Step Aside, Pops, her two published collections of her online comic, reinterpret history, classic literature, and terrible old cartoons through a modern lens. Beaton does tons of research to make her comics as accurate as possible, using sly humor, ridiculous butt jokes, and a little whimsy to teach her history lessons: Consider the perfectly skeptical expression on Ida B. Wells's face when told that white suffragettes would prefer she didn't participate in their suffrage march, but, "It's naawt a race thing."

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5Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, by Alison Bechdel

Mariner Books

When Alison Bechdel was in college, her father suddenly died, leaving his family with many unanswered questions. Through her graphic memoir Fun Home (now also a hit Broadway musical), Bechdel explores her family's history to try to figure out who her father was, why he concealed his sexual identity, and what exactly happened the day of his death. She's also telling the story of figuring out her own sexual identity, from early, confusing crushes to her all-consuming first college love. Bechdel is clear-eyed facing her wrenching family secrets, but she balances the sorrow with joy. This is a lot to communicate in a graphic novel, but Bechdel is more than up to the challenge.

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6Bitch Planet, by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro

Image Comics

Fans of sci-fi, Orange Is the New Black, big action, and bigger characters are crazy about Bitch Planet. Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick's premise is classic dystopia: What if men rounded up all the "non-compliant" women and exiled them to an off-planet prison. Bitch Planet uses the style of '60s and '70s exploitation films to totally subvert the genre, putting women of all shapes, sizes, colors, and identities in outrageous situations and daring them to escape. Imagine if every action hero and villain of the last 40 years were women: Bitch Planet is that dream come true.

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7The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

Marvel NOW!

For people who don't follow comics, "the Marvel Universe" conjures enormous superhero movies and infinite heroes with long and complicated histories. Well, never mind all that, because you've got The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Written by Ryan North, creator of the beloved Dinosaur Comics, and drawn by Erica Henderson, this hilarious, nutty (yep) reboot of one of Marvel's countless superpeople was made just for you. As half-human, half-squirrel Doreen Green heads to college, she wants to be "normal," but with a best squirrel friend, a huge fluffy tail, and a history of heroism, she has to save the world, too. Watch Squirrel Girl take down some of the biggest foes you may have never heard about, in hilarious and touching ways.

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8

Candlewick Press

In her memoir about first love at summer camp, Maggie Thrash uses simple, beautiful watercolors to illustrate the story of what happened when she fell for a counselor at her all-girls Christian summer camp. While the wide-open spaces and massive skies make Maggie feel free, the unspoken, conservative social rules constrain her. Fifteen-year-old Maggie is full to bursting with huge emotions, and uses the rifle range as her outlet, until she can't stay bottled up any longer. Honor Girl is a big-hearted story told honestly and generously. Check out an excerpt at Rookie and fall in love yourself.

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9Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Image Comics

Between war and parenthood, which is harder? Saga, a futuristic series written by Brian Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples, brings you a very adult star-crossed tale of love among the atrocities of an interplanetary war. Marko and Alana struggle to protect their fledgling family as they flee from those on both sides who would use them or destroy them. As Vaughan explains, he wanted to write about the difficulty of marriage and parenthood, but hidden inside a ripping action story to keep things exciting. Staples's art is both operatically huge and intimate; she even hand-letters baby Hazel's narration. Yes, sometimes the narrator is a baby — aren't comics amazing?

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10

Marvel NOW!

When Kamala Khan burst onto the scene in 2014, people flipped out for the awesome teenage girl living in Jersey City, the observant Muslim daughter of Pakistani immigrants, both a classically drawn superhero and a superfan. As writer (and Muslim convert) G. Willow Wilson told Vulture, "When you're growing up as a minority and you feel somewhat alienated from the mainstream, you're going to seek out other people who feel that way. That's what geek culture is traditionally about." Kamala juggles her villain-crushing world-saving with familial obligations and homework, trying to figure out her public and private identities and write amazing fan fiction. The new Ms. Marvel really kicks ass.

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11

Airship Entertainment

Normally webcomics transition to print, but Phil and Kaja Foglio's Girl Genius managed success in the opposite direction. With the tagline "Adventure, Romance, MAD SCIENCE!" you'll find the alternate-history, "gas lamp fantasy" world the Foglios have created to be an easy draw, and Agatha Clay is everything you want in a goofy heroine: Instead of big muscles and big weapons, Agatha navigates a world of mad scientists and political intrigue with her wits and charm. And there's a love triangle, because of course there is. Whether you read it online or as graphic novels (or both!), Girl Genius will transport you.

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12

Fantagraphics

One of the best-regarded series from the alternative comics movement of the 1980s, Love and Rockets mixed science fiction, contemporary relationships, and Latin-American culture in a totally original way. A production of the brothers Hernandez (Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario), L&R uses individual vignettes to cover the lives and loves of best friends Maggie and Hopey, and a massive cast of characters spread between Los Angeles and the fictional Mexican village of Palomar. It's moving writing with emotional depth, sharp humor, and magical realism — think Like Water for Chocolate but with more punk rock. (Plus, there's a reading guide!)

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13Promethea, by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III, and Mick Gray

America's Best Comics/WildStorm

Comics have always drawn on mythology, but perhaps none so much as Alan Moore's Promethea, a heroine brought to life by the power of imagination. During her research, college student Sophie Bangs discovers that throughout history, certain writers have been manifesting the otherworldly warrioress Promethea by channeling their creative energies into her works about legend. When she becomes Promethea during a heated battle with hellish demons, Sophie finds that the worlds of literature and magic are not so far apart. With amazing art and a surprisingly philosophical plot, Promethea is total reader wish-fulfillment.

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14Monstress, by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda

Image Comics

You may sometimes feel like a monster, but Maika, the protagonist of Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda's Monstress, really is one. Takeda's Japanese manga-influenced art is richly detailed, bringing to life Liu's utterly brutal, violent world in which everyone is hiding some dark secrets. The first, extra-large issue was just released last fall, so Maika's ruthless quest to free herself from slavery, tap into her own monstrous power, and solve the mystery of her mother's death is only beginning. If you want big, beautiful, terrifying, violent magic, Monstress is your next favorite comic.

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